Administrators, trustees and coaches at Arkansas Tech University broke ground Thursday on the Chartwell's Athletic Complex, a facility that will feature eight tennis courts and a softball diamond and will provide a much-needed boost for the two athletic programs.

"This is really going to be great, from a recruiting aspect and for our players," head tennis coach Abby Davis said. "Our students will be able to come over and use these facilities more often. It's going to be convenient for players to come out of class and come over here to work out or practice instead of having to drive across town.

"The convenience is going to be key. From what I've seen, this is going to be the best facility on this side of the conference as far as outdoor tennis courts."

Head softball coach Gidget Pambianchi agreed with Davis, saying the complex would assist coaches in recruiting and retaining quality athletes.

"It's going to mean players, players, players," Pambianchi said. "It will give the girls a lot to look forward to. They are excited about seeing this happen.

"This will be very helpful for our program - getting players here and them seeing that we've got a great facility will do wonders for our recruiting."

Besides the eight tennis courts and softball diamond, the complex will also include spectator stands, a facility for locker rooms and coaches offices for the Golden Suns softball and tennis teams.

Currently, the softball team plays all of its home contests at fields around the Russellville area, including Fast Pitch World, while the tennis team holds most of its home matches at Old Post Park in Russellville.

"It's going to be a big change," Pambianchi said. "This is the fourth year for the softball program, and we have seniors who have been here the whole time who haven't had the benefits of an on-campus facility. It's going to be really exciting for the future of our team."

Athletic director Steve Mullins said having first-class facilities for athletic programs was invaluable for those sports.

"It means everything in the world when we have on-campus, first-class facilities," Mullins said. "I think it makes a statement to our university and to the community that softball and women's tennis are important to Arkansas Tech.

"I think it will give these teams a boost and make us very competitive in the Gulf South Conference. When you're talking about visiting with 17- and 18-year-olds, where they play and the facilities you have are important because if you're involved in college athletics, you're going to be spending an inordinate amount of time with those sports."

Also Thursday, Dr. Robert C. Brown, university president, announced the complex would be named for Chartwell's International. Chartwell's provides the food and dining services for the university and made a $1.25 million donation to the university in February that was designated for capital improvements.

The $1.25 million that will help fund the women's athletic complex is part of the $4 million "Return to Glory" capital campaign that was unveiled to the public at homecoming earlier this month.

In addition to the women's athletic complex, the campaign is also renovating the press box and other services attached to the school's football stadium, Buerkle Field. Among the improvements expected at Buerkle Field are revamped concession stands, new ticket offices, new restrooms will be installed and a bookstore will be added.

"This is an important day in the life of our university," Brown said. "Because our friends at Chartwell's have been so good, so cooperative; because we've had such a good relationship over the years, and because they've given a gift to the university for this project, I'm pleased to announce the name our our women's athletic complex will be the Chartwell's Athletic Complex."

Vice president of development Jayne Jones said that as of this time, nearly $3.2 million of the $4 million goal has been raised privately for the campaign.